Mateo, Alberto Nel R.

O0B

Reflection paper on the reading material entitled "The Role of Programming in IT"

This article discusses the essence of programming on the field of IT. It also
emphasizes the difference between the courses of study between IT (Information
Technology) and to the other disciplines such as CS (Computer Science), SE
(Software Engineering) and CE (Computer Engineering). All of these disciplines may
look the same but in IT; they structured their curricula in a manner that their students
would have encompassed their five knowledge areas. These are Programming,
Networking, Information Management (Database), Web Systems and Human-
Computer Interaction (HCI). In all of these core areas, we somehow think that
Programming is truly present on all of them even in a small percentage only.

In the Programming core, there is nothing more to say because it is already

obvious. On the Networking, Programming works here in a manner of developing
customize solutions which are beneficial as to which the sites can modify their own
protocols. On the Web systems, it needs programming in order to provide dynamic,
interactive and media-rich sites for their users. Thus, programming can't be eliminated
in this pillar. In terms of the database, programming takes place when there is no
component for the data manipulation or even just for modifying it. It is also needed by
the database administrators in order to contribute in finding a solution to their
problems with their teams in a certain project. Last is the Human-Computer
Interaction. Programming takes place in the rapid prototyping. These helps the
developers identify what the system does and as to what the system can do in the
context of end users.

All of these are knowledge areas that make IT very different from the
CS/SE/CE disciplines. In the first glance, IT is creating its differentiation in terms of
their culture. In other words, their expected outcomes and their mentality toward
systems or programs they handle. In the CS/SE/CE, they are prepared to create a
program from scratch while the IT are prepared in order to integrate components that
are already been created. Thus CS/SE/CE is learning to design for reuse while IT is to
design by reuse. This makes their difference clearer. This makes the CS/SE/CE is
focus on the computer (having it as the problem). The IT on the other hand, is closer
to the end user. That makes them focus on using computer as solutions to solve
problems. These differences among those discipline will only get broader as the time
passes and it will surely never meet at the same end point.